On a high ( Friday 09 July 2010 )

Spring is taking hold in North America and preparations are underway for the imported citrus season start reports Mark Greenberg, Fisher Capespan's senior vice president - procurement & chief operating officer.

With easy-peelers from South Africa, Chile and Peru that have been arriving since May, followed by a full range of oranges, Minneolas, late Clementines and grapefruit, grocery shelves will be stocked with a wide variety of citrus throughout the summer and deep into autumn.

Optimism about the season is running high and for good reason. First of all, South Africa is expecting a sizeable orange crop that appears to be maturing early and shows good colour - an important parameter in the US market. Second, grapefruit from the Northern Cape has received United States Department of Agriculture approval for entry into the USA. As supplies of quality grapefruit are notoriously light in the USA during the summer months, the advent of this new product is likely to attract considerable interest among retailers.

2010 will mark the second full season in which Chilean navel oranges will be allowed in the USA and they will again vie for summer grocery shelf space with South African and Australian navels. South Africa will dominate the US orange market in June and July. Chilean competition will be felt primarily in August and September. But with easy access to both the east and west coasts, the Chileans will have the means to spread their fruit over a wide marketing area. The South Africans are countering with a push into the western and mid-western USA backed by promotional funds from the Citrus Producers' Forum based in Citrusdal.

We expect that the extraordinary USA interest in the World Cup will generate even greater interest in South African citrus products and will propel the South African citrus industry as a whole to reach its goals for the season!

« Back